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footstool attached so that the lady could lie down or sit up as best pleased her. Ela held out a hand, not to be kissed, as Alinor had at first suspected with a quiver of resentment, but to clasp Alinor's. |
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"It is so kind of you to come and visit me," she sighed. "I should have come to youa stranger and new-married as you arebut you know my sad health makes even such pleasures a painful effort. And the bishop's house is so large and draughty, and there are so many people coming and going that I cannot bear the noise. Oh, please, do sit down, Lady Alinor." |
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Alinor complied with the invitation promptly. Now that she was no longer distracted by worry about Ian and the myriad problems of being a hostess to a large and complex group of guests, the expression in Lady Ela's eyes, so much at variance with her whining voice and silly conversation, came into sharp focus. |
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"You do me honor to invite me, madam," she replied cautiously. |
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"Oh no, not at all. I will always do for you and Lord Ian anything in my power. William told me, you see, that if it had not been for your husband's help, he would not have returned to me at all." |
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The voice was so different that Alinor's eyes widened. |
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"Did Lord Ian not tell you?" Lady Ela continued. "That is a generous man, generous to foolishness." |
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"He did tell me," Alinor replied after an instant of swift thought, "but what he did is meaningless. He would have done as much for a common man-at-arms, and Lord Salisbury would have done the same for him. There is no debt. I never thought of it again." |
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"That is generous of you, and kindly said, but I think of it. Of course," Lady Ela's voice changed suddenly again, taking on its normal high-pitched whine, as if she had given Alinor a signal and now wished to see whether she were clever enough to pick it up, "I do not know why I should care. You see how William misuses me, sending me off all alone to face the dangers of the |
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